Richland hires former superintendent for critical role as budget tightens
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Matt Ellis returned to Tri-Cities as Richland’s HR director on July 1, 2025.
- Tillamook board placed Ellis on leave before his June 29 resignation; reasons unclear.
- Ellis cited family ties, career growth and deeper district familiarity for his return.
After a two-year stint on the picturesque Oregon coast, a familiar face to Tri-City educators is making a return.
Matt Ellis, former superintendent of Prosser School District, who most recently led the Tillamook School District, has been hired as Richland’s new director of human resources.
He started the job July 1, and the school board approved his hiring at the June 24 meeting.
“For me, Richland was an opportunity to come home,” Ellis said during his introduction at Tuesday’s night’s Richland School Board meeting.
His recent and sudden departure from the 2,000-student Tillamook School District left many in rural Northwest Oregon with questions.
Ellis resigned on July 1 from the district after the school board placed him on an extended administrative leave, the reason for which was never revealed in public statements.
He arrived in Tillamook in 2023 on a three-year contract after having served five years as Prosser’s top educator. A short June 29 resignation letter to the Tillamook School Board reportedly did not detail his reason for leaving.
But Ellis, 44, told the Herald after this week’s meeting that he and his wife had intended to return to the Tri-Cities, and that he was in the midst of negotiating a separation agreement with the board.
He declined any characterization that the exit was messy.
“These are people that I get to actually learn from and collaborate with, so I’m honored to just be part of that team,” he said, highlighting his long lasting relationships with Richland’s “top-notch” executive staff.
In a statement, Richland Superintendent Shelley Redinger said Ellis will bring “extensive experience in public education and a strong commitment to supporting our staff and students.”
“Matt also brings a strong community connection to our district. He grew up in Prosser and brings a deep understanding of our region and the people who make it special,” she continued.
Ellis replaces Tim Praino, another longtime Tri-Cities educator and the former Richland High School principal.
Praino resigned July 31 as executive director of HR and started a new job the following day as interim superintendent of the Kittitas School District. He’ll make $165,000 on a one-year contract as the school board there searches for a permanent replacement.
Ellis’ salary wasn’t immediately known. His base salary while in Tillamook was about $180,000, according to the Headlight Herald.
A product of Prosser, Ellis was a prodigy Mustang wrestler who won two state high school championships and later went on to compete for Oregon State University while pursuing his undergraduate degree. He coached at Stanford University for a time before graduating with his master’s degree in teaching from University of the Cumberlands.
His teaching career started in 2008, when he was hired by Grandview School District as a social studies teacher. Ellis took over as high school principal in the Royal School District before serving as Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Schools superintendent from 2016 to 2018.
The superintendent job in Prosser brought him home that year. Before departing from the district in 2023, he told the Herald his reasons for staying had “dissolved” over the past five years, especially in the wake of his mother’s death.
But Ellis says he was drawn back to the Mid-Columbia yet again to be closer to family — specifically, his siblings and 94-year-old grandfather. He also gets the chance to work in a bigger district and earn more service credit years.
His family will maintain a home on the coast; Ellis noted that, during his time in Oregon, few family members made the trip down to visit.
